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binches's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Truly Devious tells the story of Stevie Bell, a girl with an obsession with true crime, as she gets the opportunity to live and study in an old school, ready to solve the murder that was committed there 70 years ago. Things change, however, when she is faced with the reality of what it means to be confronting death.
The book features a variety of characters, each of them likable and fleshed out in their own way. I loved how the story managed to shift the perception of a crime from something to just solve towards something that can be traumatic and horrifying. The writing, worldbuilding, characters, and dual timeline were done perfectly to tell an intriguing story about a girl who just wanted to find a dead body.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
myleesimm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, and Murder
Minor: Racism and Transphobia
stevie accidentally misgenders a character, idk if that'd be considered transphobia to most but to be safe i added the warning LOLz_thatsit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
mswarning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
book_aesthetic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Drug use, Murder, and Alcohol
effys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I really enjoyed the characters in this book, they all felt real and their were characters I trusted and characters I was very suspicious of but the story kept me questioning whether my opinions were eighth or wrong. The story was interesting and I want to know more about it and the ending made me desperately want to immediately pick up book 2 to find out more.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lanies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The characters were a bit one-dimensional and sometimes frustrating but overall likeable. I never felt that the plot was lagging. The series is essentially one long book broken down into three parts, and I’m glad I waited until all three books were out so that I could read one straight after another.
I don’t love when authors throw a bunch of current pop culture references in, because they just strike me as cringey sometimes (yes, this is about the reference to “sexy” BBC Sherlock), but this series didn’t have too many of them.
As a person with an anxiety disorder, the discussion of Stevie’s anxiety didn’t really bother me, but if you are triggered in any way by in-depth discussion of anxiety/panic attacks, I would exercise caution.
The one real gripe I have with this series is only an issue in the first book. Early in the book, Janelle informs Stevie that Vi uses they/them pronouns, but everywhere else in the book, the author uses she/her pronouns for Vi. I’m guessing that Vi being non-binary was probably a detail added after most of the book was written and no one remembered to go back in and change the pronouns (as opposed to deliberate misgendering), but either way it was disappointing to see it throughout the book. In the 2nd and 3rd books, they/them pronouns are used consistently for Vi.
Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury